Banana Oat Muffins

 I didn't take a picture of these, because they just look like plain muffins.  They tasted pretty much like the average banana muffin, too.  They get 4.5 stars on allrecipes, but I would probably only give them 3.  I guess I think an entire cup of sugar is too much, especially when you already have banana in there. I assumed they were healthy muffins, when they are a far cry from that.  Just because they contain banana and oats doesn't mean they are healthy. 

Banana Oat Muffins
from AllRecipes

Ingredients:

1 cup rolled oats 1 cup all-purpose flour 1 tablespoon rolled oats 1/2 cup chopped walnuts 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon baking powder 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup butter, softened 1 cup white sugar

2 eggs 1 cup mashed ripe banana 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1/2 cup sour cream   1/3 cup rolled oats 4 tablespoons brown sugar 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon 2 tablespoons butter, chilled 1/4 cup chopped walnuts

Directions:

1.	Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease 12 muffin cups or line with paper muffin liners.
2.	Place 1 cup rolled oats in a food processor and process until ground. In a large bowl, combine ground oats with flour, 1 tablespoon rolled oats, chopped walnuts, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.
3.	In a separate bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the banana and vanilla. Stir in sour cream. Mix oat/flour mixture into egg mixture. Spoon batter into prepared muffin pans.
4.	To make Topping: In a small bowl, combine 1/3 cup rolled oats, brown sugar, cinnamon. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs; stir in 1/4 cup chopped walnuts. Generously sprinkle muffins with topping.
5.	Bake in preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes, until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into a muffin comes out clean.

Rosemary Mashed Potatoes

Rosemary Mashed Potatoes

Ingredients
8 large potatoes (about 4 pounds), peeled and quartered
  1-1/2 teaspoons salt, divided
  3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
  1/4 cup butter, cubed
  1/2 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary
  1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  1/4 teaspoon pepper

Directions

Place potatoes in a Dutch oven; add 1 teaspoon salt. Cover with water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until tender. Drain.

Place potatoes in a large bowl. Add the cream, butter, rosemary, nutmeg, pepper and remaining salt; beat until smooth. Yield: 12 servings.

Originally published as Rosemary Mashed Potatoes in Taste of Home February/March 2008, p3

I made these to go with our Sunday dinner. I kind of was laughing about it because who uses a recipe to make mashed potatoes? It was different. The rosemary/nutmeg combo was interesting. I think the nutmeg stood out more than the rosemary, maybe because I used dried rosemary. I will probably make this again sometime, but I think I still prefer basic mashed potatoes. I used an immersion blender to mash them, which was a bad idea. They ended up really sticky.

Apple Crisp

Yes, another apple crisp recipe. This is what I made to use up the rest of the 50 pounds of apples.

Apple Crisp
4 tart apples
6 tablespoons flour
6 tablespoons rolled oats
1/2 c light brown sugar
1/2 t cinnamon
1/4 t mace
6 tablespoons butter or margarine
whipped topping

Peel, core, and cut apples into wedges. Arrange in a greased baking dish. In a bowl combine all dry ingredients. Cut in butter and mix until crumbly. Spread over apples in baking dish. Bake at 375 degrees for 10 minutes. Serve with whipped topping. Serves 4.

I could probably be disowned from the family for saying this, but I don't love apple crisp. That being said, this tasted like apple crisp should taste.

Hmm, I can't find the picture for this. It looked like apple crisp...

Campground Chili

Make friends with those camping around you. Invite them for chili. Double the recipe. Serve with salad.

1 can (19 ounces) Campbell's Chunky Sirloin Burger Soup

1 can (15 1/2 ounces) kidney beans, drained

2 teaspoons chili powder

Cooked rice

In saucepan, combine soup, beans, chili. Simmer a few minutes to blend flavors; stir occasionally. Serve over rice. Makes about 3 1/2 cups.

The only good thing about this recipe was it was easy. Big Chubb said that we can never have this again. I agreed. There was absolutely no flavor at all!! And, it isn't even close to chili. It is just an upscale vegetable canned soup with kidney beans added.

I don't know who would ever think of cooking rice when you camp. That is not my idea of easy camping food. Don't invite your camping neighbors. They won't want to be your friends after eating this.

He ate the salad and kidney beans.

Wheat Muffins

Another recipe from my page of wheat recipes.  I wanted muffins one morning, but didn't have many ingredients.  This is a very basic recipe, which takes very basic ingredients, so I whipped them up. 

Wheat Muffins

Ingredients:
2 eggs, beaten
1 c milk
3 T brown sugar
2 T melted butter or oil
2 c sifted whole wheat flour
1/2 t salt
3 t baking powder

Directions:
Combine eggs, milk, sugar, and oil or melted butter.  Add flour, salt, and baking powder sifted together.  Stir only until flour mixture is absorbed.  Bake in greased muffin tins 20 to 30 minutes at 375-400 degrees.

We thought these were good, but way too plain for us.  They would be better with a mix-in like chocolate chips.  The kid really, really liked them, however.  She ate them very well and whined to have them as a snack, so I guess they were a win. 

Chowder Macaroni Bake

I have a pamphlet from Campbell's Chunky Soups called Quick &Easy Hearty Dishes. Each one features a Campbell's Chunky Soup.

Here's a grand way to please macaroni fans--the addition of Clam Chowder is a bright new idea.

1 can (19 ounces) Campbell's Chunky Clam Chowder Soup
1 1/2 cups cooked elbow macaroni
1 can (about 8  ounces) tomatoes, chopped and drained
1 cup shredder Cheddar cheese
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon dry mustard

In a 1 1/2-quart shallow baking dish (10x6x2"), combine soup, macaroni, tomatoes, 1/2 cup Cheddar cheese, Parmesan cheese and dry mustard. Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes or until hot; stir. Top with remaining cheese; heat until cheese melts. Makes about 4 cups.

Well, where should I start. It came together easy. That is about the best thing I can say for the recipe. I had a blonde moment and put in a whole can, 15 ounces, of diced tomatoes. It did nothing for the recipe. I am not a fan of chunky soups, and clam chowder is not even close to one I can stand. I started with low expectations and they were met pretty low.

Big Chubb said it was weird, but still ate it and the leftovers for lunch the next day. Little Chubb wouldn't touch it. I ate a helping to form an opinion.

We will never eat this again, and I do not look forward to the rest of the recipes in this booklet.

7 Layer Salad

This "recipe" came from the Mount Vernon Young Women's Cookbook when I was a youth.

7 Layer Salad
from Maria Hansen

Ingredients:
1 large head leafy green lettuce
1 c frozen peas (cooked and cooled)
1/4 c chopped green pepper
1/4 c chopped onion (or green onion)
16 oz jar ranch or buttermilk dressing
8 oz shredded cheese
bacon bits or salad topping of your choice

Directions:
In a 9x13 in. pan or dish place lettuce evenly, that has been rinsed and torn into bite sized pieces.  Sprinkle peas on top of lettuce followed by green pepper and onion.  Chopped celery and carrots may be substituted for the green pepper and onion if desired.  Pour dressing evenly over veggies.  Sprinkle shredded cheese over dressing.  Sprinkle bacon bits/salad toppings on last and seal with a lid or foil and refrigerate until serving.  This may be prepared early in the day.  The extra time enhances the flavor of the salad.

I'll be upfront here and say that I didn't follow the ingredient list exactly.  I used whatever I already had/was cheap, so here is my list in order :
mixed greens
peas
hard boiled egg
tomatoes
green pepper
ranch dressing
cheese

It was good, your normal 7 layer salad.  The beauty of 7 layer salads is that you can change the ingredients for whatever you have on hand or want.  The dressing is supposed to seal in the flavors and help them meld together, which I thought could have been better accomplished with a ranch/mayo mix.  It was good, but I doubt I'll make it again for a long time.

Apple Crunch Muffins

Another way to use those apples.

Apple Crunch Muffins

1 1/2 c sifted flour
1/2 c sugar
2 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
1/2 t cinnamon
1/4 c shortening
1 egg, slightly beaten
1/2 c milk
1 c diced apples

Sift flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon in mixing bowl. Cut in shortening until fine crumbs form. Combine milk and egg. Add to dry ingredients along with apples. Stir just to moisten. Spoon batter into muffin cups filling 2/3 full. Sprinkle with 1/4 c brown (packed), 1/4 c chopped walnuts, 1/2 t cinnamon, (mix these 3 ingredients before sprinkling on muffins). Bake at 375 degrees for 25 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm; Serves 12.

These are pretty similar to baked apple donuts. I prefer baked apple donuts because the nutmeg, the grated apple, and the cinnamon sugar tops are superior to these guys. But these were still good. I used whole wheat flour, and they weren't quite as tender as they could have been with white. Oh yeah, I didn't have walnuts to put on the top, so I didn't. I guess I missed out on the crunch, but I still think the butter/cinnamon sugar topping would be better.

Cincinnati Chili

I've been wanting to make this for a long time.  Since Muncie is only a couple hours from Cincy, there are some Skyline Chili restaurants around the area and we've talked about how adding cinnamon makes them so different.  The Cannon Center served it and none of my friends ever liked it, but I did.  Spaghetti is not a favorite in our house, but I thought the extra flavor and spice would be a happy change and it was.  We had it with a nice seven layer salad, which will be the feature food on the blog in a few days.

Cincinnati Chili
from McCormick

Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 55 minutes

Ingredients:
1.5 lbs. ground beef
1 c onion, chopped
Cincinnati Spice Blend:
2 T chili powder
1 t garlic powder
1 t cinnamon
1/2 t allspice
2 t sugar
1/2 t salt

1 can tomato sauce
2 c water
8 oz cooked spaghetti
1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 -1 c cheddar cheese
1/2 c chopped onion

Directions:
1.  Cook ground beef and onion in large saucepan over medium-high heat until beef is no longer pink.  Drain.
2.  Add spice blend, tomato sauce, and water.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 45 minutes (do not cover), stirring occasionally.
3.  Serve chili over spaghetti.  Top with kidney beans, shredded cheese, and chopped onion as desired.

It was good.  I don't know if I would call it a favorite, but it was really very good.  The husband liked it way more than plain old spaghetti, the kid had a lot of fun eating long strings of noodles, and everyone thought it was very filling.  I only used one pound of meat, and it will still give us leftovers for days.  I would recommend it, but it just might not be your cup of tea.

Streusel Topped Apple Custard Pie

Last Saturday Brian stopped in LoLo's to get donuts. They have seriously good donuts there. He came out with five donuts and 50 pounds of apples. They were a good deal ($.30/lb), but that's a lot of apples, especially since they were (gigantic) red delicious, which I don't like eating plain. We made 14 pints of applesauce, 5 dehydrator loads full of dried apples, this dessert, and we still have 10 pounds left. Good thing I have a ton more apple recipes to try out, although this was definitely the best sounding one.

STREUSEL - TOPPED APPLE CUSTARD PIE
1 (9 inch) pastry shell, unbaked
4 c. cooking apples, pared & sliced
2 eggs
1 (14 oz.) can sweetened condensed milk
1/4 c. butter, melted
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
Dash of nutmeg
3 tbsp. walnuts, chopped
2 tbsp. light brown sugar

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Arrange apple slices in pastry shell. In a medium bowl, beat eggs. Stir in sweetened condensed milk; butter, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Mix well. Pour over apple slices. In a small bowl, combine walnuts and sugar. Sprinkle over pie filling. Place pie in bottom third of oven; bake 10 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees and bake 35 to 40 minutes longer or until golden brown.

We liked it. We had it warm the first night and cold the second night, and it was good both ways. The custard apple pie was a nice change from classic apple pie since that is probably my least favorite kind.